Troubleshooting

The ring doesn’t open

Work down this list until the ring opens. Try the ring’s own shortcut first. If it works but the Any ring shortcut doesn’t, check that ring’s Opens when rules.

• Hotkeys are paused. Right-click the Rondell icon in the tray, by the clock. If Pause hotkeys has a check, click it. The icon is grey while paused.
• The shortcut clashes. In Settings, open Shortcuts and look at your keys. A key flagged “Windows uses this” or “Another app uses this” may never reach Rondell. Pick another key.
• The app is excluded. In Settings, open System and check Excluded apps. Rondell ignores your keys in those apps.
• The ring is blocked in that app. In Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, open Opens when, and check Not in.
• No Opens when rule matches. Without a match, no ring opens. In Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, and check its rules. Check that something is selected if a rule needs a selection.
• It was a quick tap. A tap shorter than Hold time runs the ring’s Quick tap pill instead of opening the ring. Hold the key longer, or change Hold time in Settings, under Shortcuts, in the Any ring card.

The wrong ring opens, or the ring gets no selection

Copy the selection by hand in the same app (Ctrl + C) to check that the app supplies text. If a slow app, such as a browser, gives the ring nothing, raise Copy wait. In Settings, open Shortcuts and find it in the Any ring card. Pills then start a little later.

If a ring with a broad rule, such as Any text, opens when you wanted a more specific one, in Settings, open Rings, pick the specific ring, and under Opens when move it Earlier so its rules are checked first.

If an AI result is copied but not pasted, the field may not accept a paste. To keep every result on the clipboard, in Settings, open System and turn on Keep result on clipboard.

An AI pill fails

In Settings, open Models, find the provider, and choose Test next to its key. Then find the message you saw below.

• “No API key set”: the provider has no key. Paste one in Settings, under Models, or choose a provider that has one.
• “<name> didn’t accept this key. Double-check it.”: the key is wrong, expired or for another provider. In Settings, open Models and paste it again.
• “Couldn’t reach <name>. Check your internet connection.”: check your connection, then try again.
• “<name> says too many requests right now. Try again in a minute.”: wait and run the pill again.
• “Add an AI provider in Settings”: no provider is set up yet. In Settings, open Models and add one.
• “Model not found: <id>”: the model the pill uses is no longer there. In Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, then click the pill and choose another model.
• “Local model: Server isn’t running at 127.0.0.1:11434”: start Ollama (or LM Studio, which uses 127.0.0.1:1234), then run the pill again. Check the model name too.
• Build with agent needs a Google Gemini key. In Settings, open Models and add one.

Settings won’t open

If you see “Settings needs the WebView2 Runtime”, Windows is missing the Microsoft component Settings runs in. Use the link in the message to install it, then open Settings again.

If Settings still won’t open, right-click the tray icon and choose Restart.

File search finds little

File search is off until you turn it on. If you see “File search is off”, choose Open Settings, then turn on File search.

If it’s on but results are thin, check these in Settings, under File search.

• Folders: the folder you want must be listed. For another drive or a network share, choose Add folder… and pick its folder.
• Skip: a folder, name or pattern listed here is left out. Remove it.
• Indexing is still running. File names show up first. Check the progress line in the tray menu or at the side of Settings.
• Search is paused. Choose Resume on the File search page in Settings, or untick Pause file search in the tray menu. A full-screen app, Windows Battery Saver, or the On battery setting can pause it.
• “Search by meaning isn’t installed”: download Search by meaning on the File search page in Settings.

The microphone doesn’t work

Voice input needs its download and a microphone that Windows lets Rondell use. Match the message you see.

• “No microphone”: plug in or reconnect a microphone. Then, in Settings, open Models and choose it under Microphone.
• “Microphone blocked in Windows”: in Windows settings, open Privacy and security, then Microphone, and allow desktop apps to use it.
• “Not enough memory”: close other large models or heavy apps, then try again.
• “Voice input couldn’t start”: right-click the tray icon, choose Restart, and try again. In Settings, open Models and check that Voice input is downloaded and covers one of Your languages.
• Words lag behind: wait for them to appear before you press Enter. Enter drops words still being recognized.

A pill stops, or its result is empty

In Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, then click the pill. Run it from its first action. Open the action that failed and read Last run.

Fix any field marked with a warning. Then check that the earlier action your field uses ran in that branch and gave the value you picked.

Read a file reads from Documents, 200 KB at most. An API call can only use a key saved for its web address. A program can’t be picked from the selected text.

• A line starting “Would …” in a test run, such as “Would save” or “Would click”, means the action worked as a preview. It changed nothing on your PC. To run it for real, run the pill from its ring.

My ring or pill edits are gone

Changes to a ring or pill wait until you save them. While you have unsaved changes, Discard and Save appear at the foot of the editor. If you leave with changes, Rondell asks “Save changes to “name”?” with Cancel, Don’t save, and Save. Choose Save to keep them.

To take back a change, choose the round Undo button (Undo (Ctrl+Z)) beside the builder bar, or press Ctrl + Z outside a text field. After you delete a ring or a pill, or an action that has branches, a message offers Undo.

A built-in model is slow or uses memory

Built-in models stay in memory for a while after use, so the next use is quick. To free memory sooner, open Settings, then System, and set Free memory under Built-in models to Sooner. Their next use then takes a moment longer.

Later keeps them loaded longer. Closing other heavy apps also helps a slow model.

A Show bookmarks pill shows a message

Match the message you see.

• “Show bookmarks: no browser found”: Rondell found no supported browser with bookmarks on your PC. Install one or sign in to it, then open the pill again. Or in Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, then click the pill and choose another Browser.
• “Show bookmarks: that folder is gone”: the folder was deleted or renamed in your browser. In Settings, open Rings, pick the ring, then click the pill and choose another Folder.
• “Show bookmarks: no bookmarks here”: the folder is empty. Add bookmarks in your browser, or choose another Folder.
• “Show bookmarks: they couldn’t be read”: the browser may be updating, or its bookmarks may be damaged. Close and reopen the browser, then try again.

Rondell stopped after the trial

When the 14-day trial ends without a license key, the ring and your pills stop working. One notice offers Enter key and Buy Rondell.

Settings still opens, with a license card. Choose Enter key to type your key, or Buy Rondell to buy one. Nothing you made is lost, and everything works again once the key is accepted.

See the Trial and license guide for how the trial and keys work.

Settings says its file can’t be read

Rondell doesn’t overwrite a settings file it can’t read. Fix the problem with the file, then choose Try again in Settings.

If you still need those settings, don’t choose Reset to defaults on the Backup page.

Something is stuck

Right-click the tray icon and choose Restart. If that doesn’t help, choose Exit and start Rondell again. Both let Rondell finish saving first.

Get help

When you write to support, include which pill you ran, the exact message you saw, and whether it happens every time.

Support may ask for the log file, rondell.log, in the Rondell folder inside %LOCALAPPDATA%. It holds no prompts and no keys. Check any screenshot you send for personal information.